President Garibaldi’s Secession of Mars
by Kevin F. Pickett
Summary: A Babylon 5 short story about Michael Garibaldi’s rise to the Presidency of Mars and Secession from the Alliance with a TV remote control.


**President Garibaldi's Secession of Mars from the Interstellar Alliance and How He Did It with a TV Remote**

EARTH YEAR: 2291(10 years after Sheridan's death)

4:15AM Mars Time

RECORDING MESSAGE...

I don't know what I just did. I heard the stories of Mr. Morden on B5 so I guess this wasn't any different. But this was my friend. He was a true friend and there was no reason not to trust him.

How did he piggy back that signal through that broadcast? Only he would have known I'd be front and center for a Looney Tunes marathon at this time. Somehow he even knew I'd be alone. Lyta was definitely involved. She was probably sitting by his side while his holographic projection told me the plan in detail.

G'Kar wanted blood, but this time the price was high. The whole balance of space would be changed forever. I had to return an old favor. About a year ago he sent me the list of people to tap for political support and in hours I was President of Mars. I owed him and he knew it.

I thought he was dead. No one returns from beyond the Rim. G'Kar managed to jerry-rig a signal through hyper-space and Gigabit encrypt it so no one could capture and decipher the message. I had techs on Mars working on a psychic algorithm that codes like that could be scrambled with. For his jerry-rig to work it needed Gigabit encryption which in turn could only be generated by psychic influence. Lyta. How did they know? She was pulling the strings. Her league of minions would have helped her gain access to my tech companies. I knew she wouldn't go as far to blackmail me. We had common interests. Any mistake on her part towards me could ruin our future endeavors which she needed badly. Still, she couldn't be trusted.

G'Kar was asking me to attack Centauri Prime. That's easy. Let's just attack one of the oldest most powerful races while they are at their lowest point. Let's see if the whole galaxy just sits and watches. For this to work I first had to announce our secession from the Interstellar Alliance and then our new alliance with the Narns. This was guaranteed to send shock waves to Earth. Delenn would be next and I'd have one of her Starkiller Class warships parked right outside my balcony. Well they had it planned out well. G'Kar was very specific about my next move. Attack Centauri Prime. Again, Lyta was snooping and somehow gaining access to my tech companies. G'Kar also knew about the remote jump-gates for planetary connections. I was developing these months ago for a virtual bridge to Earth to further the alliance and make it stronger. It could have lead the way to emergency planetary evacuations with no transport ships involved. No fuel was needed and no weapons for protection. An entire planet could be evacuated in hours. These remote jump-gates could be activated and used on a planet and actually be used by a person as lonmg as they are moving into the same atmosphere. Anyway, what G'Kar was asking was suicide. My technology was being used for war.

First I had to announce the secession from the Interstellar Alliance. This was a simple three way vid-chat call to my cabinet of advisors. No, they were not Jack Daniels, Jameson, and Jim Beam. Then I used my auto hologram and programmed the speech to broadcast on Mars first. I set the delay to start the broadcasts out in Sector 3 and relay back to Earth and Minbar. By the time the Alliance was aware I could move my new Titan fleet into orbit at Centauri Prime. The next part was the point of no return. I'd personally hand deliver a few of my remote ground based jump-gates to Narn and then return back to my living room without breaking a sweat. Right before the Narn ground attack force jumps to the steps of the capitol of Centauri Prime I would make the next announcement of our new alliance with the Narns. That will give me 30 minutes to get to Minbar and calm Delenn. She won't like it at first but we have to declare peace before Earth shows up at Centauri Prime. With my luck they'll know what I'm after and who's behind it.

G'Kar wanted what I wanted and Lyta wanted the same thing. It was all for leftover Shadow technology hidden on Centauri Prime. I wasn't the only one who knew the Shadows had setup Centauri Prime as their resurrection point. I made one phone call to the prison where we were holding that piece of scum Drakh hitman. He knew Lyta was in contact with the remnant Shadow survivors beyond the Rim. She wasn't afraid of anyone. Tough little gal she is. So, with my space fleet, Narns ground troops and Lyta's knowledge of the leftover Shadow stuff, we had a good old Cold War brewing. I always thought it was unfair for Sheridan and Delenn to hog all the good Vorlon technology to their own alliance. We had peace but it was unbalanced. This was the proper edge but it had to be done right. So Lyta had G'Kar butter me up with a cushy Presidential gig and then later hit me with the favor they knew I would like. Oh wait, the marathons back on, I'll finish the message in 10 minutes. Sounds like it's Wabbit Season! Be right back...

TIME: 5:45AM Mars Time

CONTINUING RECORDING...

Well, Delenn wasn't happy. I sat there in front of her with my bowl of Corn Flakes and she cried. She had already dispatched the Starkillers to Mars. I was sitting on Minbar with a bowl of corn flakes in my left hand and my TV remote in my right. I yelled at Delenn for an hour while Starkillers were surrounding Mars holding my planet hostage and my fleet was away surrounding Centauri Prime. I had no ace up my sleeve. I needed a miracle from G'Kar before I went to war with the Alliance. Sure I'd lose but they would be minus a few planets too. What did the Shadows leave on Centauri Prime that Delenn wanted buried and kept hidden? We all had something at stake. We all had our little secrets. I left Minbar in my remote jump-gate and I was back in my living room watching TV. Nothing could have prepared me for what happened next.

I had a 7 foot tall Vorlon sitting in my living room. I held my TV remote tight just incase I needed to make an escape. Did I forget to mention the TV remote can control my personal jump-gate, and the toilet. You know when you walk out of the bathroom and forget to flush, well, never mind. You get the idea. Anyway, this Vorlon called himself Kosh. No surprise there, but this wasn't either Kosh I remembered Sheridan telling me about. Well he explained how the Vorlons needed Mars Government to claim the items on Centauri Prime and secede from Earth to protect the universe. The Vorlons never trusted Earth. Neither did the Minbari. Maybe Lyta and G'Kar were on to something. For the first time I was in the know. I was part of the plan.

My planet was surrounded by Starkillers as the Narn ground forces searched Centauri Prime. This was the Cold War of Mars and the Interstellar Alliance. I'm sure that's what they'll call it in the history books. If those books get written in Minbari then that means Mars lost the war. I'd be as famous as Benedict Arnold.

That Vorlon vanished just as fast as he arrived. I must have a long line waiting outside the door because another transmission came in and it wasn't G'Kar. It was Lyta Alexander, and from what I could tell, pregnant. She told me to have a cup of coffee and wait while she contacted her Royal Guard on Centauri Prime. G'Kar seemed quite busy these last few months and now I knew why. Lyta was carrying G'Kar's child.

This wasn't too shocking but rather expected. She asked if I had any pure Colombian coffee around and if not to have some ready for when she arrives. That was good news. She wouldn't arrive with danger lurking in orbit. She and G'Kar had a plan to get rid of the Starkillers. I didn't want that Starkiller sitting quiet while I was cooking pasta for my lasagna.

Lyta looked great. I knew she would blossom as a mother but that cold calculating brain was still there. I could tell she was still in love with Byron. The dragon was no longer sleeping and she was finally getting her due.

My sauce was just at the right boiling point when I got the call that the last Starkiller was leaving orbit. I turned off the sauce before dropping some fresh basil in the pot. I grabbed the remote and I was instantly standing in the Royal Palace of Centauri Prime with my flannel pajamas looking down the barrel of a gun held by a Narn Shock trooper. I pushed the gun aside and walked into the Royal Chamber. Lyta was standing at a bookcase reading a small book. She didn't even look at me. She told me Vir was on Minbar being debriefed and that Londo's body was missing from the crypt. What she was looking for was found but Londo's missing body was disturbing to her and Vir. She was glad I arrived safely and that I should return to Mars. Now I'm back on Mars and on my way to Minbar. The lasagna will take about and hour so I can be back before it's done. Be right back.

TIME: 5PM Mars Time

CONTINUING RECORDING...

The lasagna almost burned but that golden brown crust on top will be interesting. I'll tell Lise it's a Sicilian recipe. Anyway, Vir is safe, Delenn is happy and I've been given the task to find Londo's body. I'm first going to eat with the wife. Londo's body could wait. He was already dead and Lise deserved some quality time. Be right back.

TIME: 6:30PM Mars Time

CONTINUING RECORDING...

They really know how to pull my strings. Once I've found Londo's body it has to be confirmed. Dr. Franklin gets that honor. My old friend Stephen Franklin. I was glad to see him and also kind of messed up since he never said goodbye when he travelled beyond the Rim. This day is full of surprises. Wait!

Mars was the key. This has nothing to do with me but the fact that I control Mars. This makes it easy for them to do their dirt through me. They weren't looking for Londo's body. They still hadn't found what they were looking for on Centauri Prime and nobody knows but Lyta. It all makes sense. That first Shadow vessel was found buried on Mars. No one ever asked why. They were looking for something then. Centauri Prime was the first place Lyta looked but then she knew it was on Mars. She couldn't let me know. So she sent me exactly where I needed to be but let me think otherwise. I had to act fast before she arrived asking for her cup of coffee. I made a call to Vir and he was very evasive on the video-phone. I knew he knew. It took a few minutes to coax it out. Londo was alive and with the Drakh. He was taken awhile ago. The Centauri had their comeback planned already. Londo was alive and making arrangements for his return and the rise of Centauri Prime with the help of some other evil race he was tricked into trusting. They'll never learn. Vir covered it well. Londo did mentor the guy. Maybe this whole plan could save Centauri Prime from another bad business deal. The fact remains that Lyta and G'Kar were looking for something and it was on Mars. They scoured Centauri Prime and found nothing. What would make G'Kar so desperate? I'll tell you what. A Narn telepath was last measured at P20. That's why there are none. Long before the war someone made sure the Narn telepaths were eliminated. Their telepaths were the most powerful engineered by Vorlons. G'Kar and Lyta's baby was at risk. G'Kar's hologram appeared and he told me to prepare for Lyta's arrival. I had to ask. G'Kar laughed as if he knew what was on my mind. He knew it wouldn't be long before I figured it out. He explained the rest. Apparently Lyta needed a psychic sedative to allow her to give birth safely. What was growing in her was already registering at P25. Lyta's own telepathic ability would fight with the child's and one would die. Lyta had to be psychically sedated. The sedative was originally a Shadow weapon designed to take out our telepaths. They left them on Centauri Prime and also on Mars. Telepaths, Mars and the last denominator is Psi-Corp. Mars was always the prize in wars involving telepaths. The Narns were always left with a disadvantage.

Anyway, Lyta would die in child birth if they didn't get the sedative. The alliance with Mars was to protect the new race from the Interstellar Alliance and help make the universe more stable. The new rulers of this sector were being born. The Narn-Human telepaths and the Minbari-Human telepaths. Delenn's son David's level was classified but I was able to find out he was last measured as a P20. They all had something at stake. If John Sheridan had known what he started he might have stayed dead on Z'ha'dum.

Is that the doorbell I hear? It must be Stephen. I think I hear a jump-gate forming in the shower. Lyta won't be happy but these remote jump-gates are tricky indoors. Time to eat some leftover cold lasagna with some old friends. Lasagna is always better after it's been sitting for awhile.

THE END…

©Copyright Kevin F. Pickett 2009

**DISCLAIMER**

**This story was created for fan appreciation and entertainment only. The creator/author of this story does not benefit financially (or otherwise) from this work.


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